Freedom Belle, 26, was one of the lucky ones. As the years progressed, it became harder and harder for the youth of Philadelphia to escape the gravitational pull of the dumb shit in the streets. She made it out just in time to take her life back and...
"If I never sing another song down here on this earth, I'll be singing with the angels... in my new home." —Lee Williams
Freedom
As soon as I got in the car, my phone started vibrating. I had to struggle reaching over the backseat to grab my satchel I had tucked it away into. When I finally was able to retrieve it, I answered just in time to hear aunt Nicole humming In My New Home by Lee Williams into the phone. "Hey Aunt Nic, what's up?" I chimed as the melody she hummed came to a halt. "Hey baby girl. Could you drop by the house for me? I've got a few things for you here and something I wanted to talk to you about in person." I sighed, looking at the time on the dashboard. It was already 6 P.M. Usually, I was ready to crawl into bed by now. Today was one of those days.
"Auntie, can't it wait until this weekend?" I asked, and I could almost see her giving me her infamous 'girl I could smack you' look through the phone with the gasp I heard on the line. "No, it cannot wait until this weekend. I know you've probably had a long day, but this is important Free. Just stop pass please." I sighed inwardly. "Ard. I'll be there in about thirty minutes. I'm just leaving work." After ending our brief conversation, I threw my phone into the passengers seat, where I watched it go off rapidly from my peripheral.
When I came to a red light I picked the phone up to see the longest list of notifications, all texts from none other than Mr. Marcellus himself. I rolled my eyes as far back as they would go without spinning loose as I opened the messages.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A poem? He is truly something else, I tell you. I couldn't tell if that something else was corny or crazy or what though. I don't know why this man felt like he had a point to prove to me. I didn't know him from anywhere nor vice versa. Whatever chances he thought he had at whatever, were merely figments of his imagination. Our souls were strangers, and that's the way it was to be. As I sped through the green lights I felt myself slowly slipping away into my thoughts. I always thought that was so dangerous from behind the wheel, somehow I always found myself lost in a sea of thoughts that would end up drowning me until I made it to my destination.
My mind wandered from how early I had to wake up tomorrow, to whatever it was Aunt Nic wanted to see me for, to Johnson... He'd been on my mind quite a bit lately. I didn't know why, but he always seemed to linger in my thoughts and sometimes I just let him. I could hear his voice in my head telling me I was stronger than I thought I was. Despite the tougher outer appearance I tried to portray, I had a weak spot for Johnson. I always had. He came into my life during a time when I didn't know myself and taught me how to appreciate the things about life that I hated. He saved me from myself and I told him I'd love him forever for it.
It's been nearly a year since we broke up, and we're broken up fasure. We'd reached a place where the moments we'd spend together were more toxic than they were rich and pleasing. But neither of us could find it in us to leave each other alone. Johnson was my first love, and at the moment my only. Part of me looked for ways to just leave him in the dust over the past year. But I couldn't let myself shake him for some reason. Whether that be just me and my inner hero syndrome, or if there was actually an underlying reason for the way we felt chained to each other.
